Alden Ehrenreich reflects on the divisive reaction to ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

Alden Ehrenreich has been reflecting on his debut performance as a young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was rocked by a traumatic production and was met with only a tepid response by audiences and critics alike.

Ehrenreich’s portrayal as the titular character proved to be one of the most divisive elements of Solo. But that clearly hasn’t impacted the 30-year-old’s memories of making the film, which he called “an amazing adventure” during his recent discussion with Games Radar.

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Particularly because it gave him the opportunity to see how a blockbuster of such magnitude is made, noting that working on films of this size “demystifies something that is very mystified.”

Ehrenreich is also overjoyed to see that Solo: A Star Wars Story’s reputation has already started to improve, thanks to its addition to Disney +, which he believes is understandable considering the huge expectation that surrounded its initial release.

“For it to be able to be seen would take a second [viewing]. And I think that’s borne itself out. And it really means a lot, and is wonderful, especially with kids, who are excited about it.”

At the same time, though, Ehrenreich is also realistic about Solo being labelled a failure, as he admits that while it “didn’t do as well as other Star Wars movies,” it still “did well for a movie.”

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“It was kind of this medium thing. But that’s not newsworthy. Even at high-level journalism, there’s an intense pressure, sometimes, it feels like, to catastrophise or celebrate... And I think that’s really f****** dangerous, especially when it pertains to the stuff that really matters, like the state of the world.”

“An article headline that says ‘things are complicated, and there are good sides and bad sides’ isn’t getting the emotional response. And I just think we really have to take a step back, and give a lot more thought to the way our emotions are being run by the stories we’re getting inundated with.”